Tier 2 operator taps Nigeria on $14.6 billion IoT opportunities

With the Internet of Things (IoT) gradually gaining momentum globally, the need for Nigeria to tap into the global technology hub has been stressed.

IoT has delivered a big growth opportunity for the telecoms industry due to the volume of connections expected and experts have projected the market will reach $14.6 trillion global market size by 2020.

In this regard, Vodacom Business Nigeria, a Tier 2 operator, said it has become highly essential for Nigeria to seize the vast opportunities that this growth presents in transforming businesses in the country.

According to the Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Lanre Kolade, at a telecoms conference in Lagos, across all industries, IoT solutions have been adopted to provide a host of different benefits, from increased Return on Investment (ROI) to developing stronger relationships with customers’, with far reaching benefits projected for the future.

Kolade explained that today, telecommunications operators are facing a period of flat growth for core services and significant decline in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), this drastic change threatens the survival of the telecoms industry, as substantial declines in user spending on voice and text services have caused a decline in telco revenue.

Kolade in his presentation, called on telecom operators to adapt to the changing times and source other revenue streams to replace what is being lost in the continuing revolution of communications.

“The Internet of Things offers significant growth potential and the opportunity to take a role in new vertical markets, such as automotive, healthcare and smart cities. As these sectors seek to adopt more IoT services, the opportunities that exist are vast. Whether you are a hardware manufacturer or connectivity reseller, adding IoT solutions to your portfolio will open up new revenue streams from selling hardware, software.